


Boston Cream

by tehmoonofficial



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Blood, Gen, Griddy's, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, No Incest, Pre-Canon, Through the Years, death mention
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-22
Updated: 2019-10-22
Packaged: 2020-12-28 01:09:19
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,105
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21128297
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tehmoonofficial/pseuds/tehmoonofficial
Summary: The Umbrella Academy goes to Griddy's to celebrate their first mission. It becomes a tradition.-Luther took his cup and raised it into the air. “To us,” he cheered proudly.“To us,” Five repeated, raising his own cup.Vanya pulled away from her milkshake’s straw and copied her brothers. “To us.”





	Boston Cream

**Author's Note:**

> This was inspired by Prompt 19-Donuts from @totallyevan's The Umbrella Academy Inktober on Tumblr!

Sunshine and cheering followed the seven children into a diner. They made it! The Umbrella Academy was now out to the world. Their first mission, stopping a bank robbery, was a complete success. The door pushed open, gently scuffing against the linoleum flooring. The three or four heads that populate a fifties-themed bakery in the middle of the day on a weekday turned towards the sound.

“What is this place, anyway?” One of them piped up. Her uniform was crisp, in comparison to the others’ blood-soaked and dust-covered blazers. Her hair was black, long, and choppy, nearly covering her eyes.

“Griddy’s. It’s a donut place,” the one with blond hair replied. His voice commanded attention, something trained into him. “I get to pick where we celebrate, as Number One.” 

Diego groaned as his brother finished talking. “Yeah, we guh-get that it’s a donut place. It ha-has that big donut sign ahn-and the light-up one.” 

“Oh. This sounds nice,” Vanya’s tone was soft and quiet, like a mouse. Almost as if she’s afraid of provoking him. Something probably trained into her as well. 

“If they have peanut butter and marshmallow sandwiches, I’m in.” Five grinned his trademark off-putting smile. Vanya giggled in reply. 

“I just want a good _waffle_,” another boy stood up on the tips of his toes to emphasize the word. He took off his mask and looked around with a glint in his eyes.   
“Hey, no!” He was elbowed by a girl with curly hair. “I heard a rumor that you put that back on, Klaus.” 

Klaus rolled his eyes and did what she said. At the same time, the Umbrella Academy member with the most blood on him wandered towards the countertop. He peered over at the donuts longingly, his reddened fingertips hesitant to tap the bell. Diego followed Ben and spotted a bell on the countertop. 

_ “Ding”  _ went the bell, signaling Agnes that there was someone in the front that needs assistance. She entered from the door that connected to the back. “Hello, welcome to Griddy’s! How can I help yo-,” she cut herself off as she saw the strange customers.

“We’re the Umbrella Academy,” Luther announced. Vanya smiled as an attempt to be polite. 

“Cah-can we have some Boston Cream donuts?” Diego spoke for Ben, the shyest by far out of all of them.

“And a waffle!” 

“Do you have strawberry milkshakes?” asked Allison. “Oh, wait! I heard a rumor that you do.” Her eyebrows drew together. “Have seven strawberry milkshakes, that is,” she amended. 

Agnes nodded slowly, taking time to gather herself. “Of course.” She grabbed some plates and put them down on the countertop. Then, she transferred seven donuts over with some napkins. She started on the milkshakes as the seven took the plates over to a booth.  
“Where’s the waffle?” Klaus pouted, looking down at a donut.  
Five took a bite out of his own donut. “She’ll get to it,” he replied firmly through a mouthful of dough and icing. Klaus scoffed and poked the Boston Cream in front of him.

“Really? You’re going to  _ poke it?  _ Just take a bite,” teased Allison. 

Agnes took that moment to slide a tray full of milkshakes onto the booth’s table. A few hands quickly grasped the glass cups. Vanya thanked Agnes and the still-wary waitress gave her a half-smile in response. “It’s no problem.”

Klaus seemed betrayed. “ _ Annnddd _ ,” he drew the word out. “Could I have a waffle?” Ben switched how he was sitting ever-so-slightly as he kicked him under the table. “ _ Please _ ?” He squinted at his brother in an  _ are-you-happy-now _ way. 

“Sure.” Agnes got out her ordering pad. “What do you want on it?” 

“ _ Everything _ .”

“I want one of th-those too.” said Diego. 

The waitress suppressed a laugh as she wrote it down. “Okay, I’ll be right back.” She headed over to return to the kitchen of the diner. 

“I wonder if I’ll ever get that stapler back,” Five mumbled, his mind elsewhere, as per usual. 

Allison took a big sip of her strawberry milkshake. It was the exact pink of red food dye, with a heaping of whipped cream on top of the drink. “Mmm, this is so good.” 

Ben plucked the strawberry off of his and bit into it. He nodded to second her observation. Vanya followed suit, bending her straw with a satisfying  _ pop  _ before trying her milkshake. The cream inside Klaus’ donut spilled out as he finally took a chomp.

Luther took his cup and raised it into the air. “To us,” he cheered proudly. 

“To us,” Five repeated, raising his own cup.

Vanya pulled away from her milkshake’s straw and copied her brothers. “To us.”

“Tuh-to my  _ waffle _ !” Diego joked as Agnes walked around the countertop, carrying two plates with more toppings than waffles.

-

The mood was different without Five.

Another mission finished, another person saved. Another celebration at Griddy’s. 

The six filed in, older, taller. Hardened.

“Hi!” Agnes beamed. She grabbed seven donuts-  _ no, wait, six _ \- she reminded herself and put one back. The rest went on plates and she placed them onto the countertop for the Umbrella Academy to grab. It was systematic at this point. They were all fourteen. This time, when they sat down at their usual spot at the barstools--which had changed since the bank robbery--they methodically passed plates down the line. The last donut fell in front of Vanya, and she grabbed a chunk of napkins out of a dispenser for the group. 

“So,” Luther began. 

Diego threw his head back and rolled his eyes. This was always how Luther gathered himself to analyze their performance at the mission. What they did wrong, what was good enough for him. “Can you shut up? We can eat donuts without your  _ grading _ .” 

The corners of Luther’s mouth tugged into a frown. “Dad put me in charge of this, so I’m going to do it, as-,”  
“As Number One. We get it.” 

“You don’t have to always be so upset about being Number Two, Diego,” Allison added from her seat in between Luther and Diego. She daintily picked up her donut with her painted nails and took a small bite so her lipstick didn’t smear. 

He scoffed. “I’m not. Why would I  _ ever  _ want to be in charge? Why would I want to be Dad’s fuh-favorite? Sounds disgusting.”

Luther’s expression went sour and he decided to stay quiet.

“ _ Anywaaay _ ,” Klaus drummed his fingers on the countertop, awkwardly attempting to break the silence. “There’s a new clothing store opening downtown. We could go shopping?”

“You mean the place with the neon glittery skirt in the window? Sounds appalling,” Allison joked. “Plus, I’m not paying for your clothes with my new merchandise money again. You have to figure out another way to get cash.”

“I’ll go shopping,” Vanya spoke from the end of the group, her tone unsure. 

“As long as I don’t have to go,” complained Ben. His uniform was crimson, like always. “He drags me  _ everywhere _ . Once, I want to stay home and read! Once.” 

“That’s no fun! Where’s your sense of adventure, Benny?” 

“Probably wherever my retainer went.”

\- 

  1. That’s the last year the six remaining Umbrella Academy members could go to Griddy’s. 

They were getting picked off like flies. The nervous energy permeated what was left of the group as they entered the diner. It wasn’t like when Five left. This time, they had the physical proof that Ben was gone. Or at least, they had a pile that could have been a uniform. But they were older now. They couldn’t just brush it off their shoulders. Their anxiety was visible as they looked to their right and left and wondered silently who would be next. It kept them jittery. 

“Welcome back,” Agnes already had the plates set down on the counter.  _ Five donuts on five plates _ . She had the newspaper open, and the headline on the front page was visible. “THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY DOES IT AGAIN.” 

“It’s been a few days,” Luther says as he slides onto the stool. His blazer has a rip where the threads dangled freely, trying to escape from the navy fabric. It wasn’t extremely obvious, but there was a fist-shaped dent in the brown plastic of the countertop. 

“It has,” Agnes replied, trying to keep her demeanor positive. She subtly smoothed out the half-moon shapes that her fingers left on the newspaper. “I’d appreciate a call!”  _ Just to know that you’re not dead _ . She had grown attached to them through these seventeen years. 

Vanya paled. “Sorry, I figured you would know.”

“Well, you’re here now.” Agnes slumped and set down the paper. “How is everyone?” 

Diego took the first bite of his donut. Even years later, his fingers smeared the chocolate icing on top of it. He didn’t have it down to a science like Allison did. “Mom seems tired.”

“I’m sure she is, having to take care of all of you full-time! She deserves a day off.”

“We all do.” Klaus shoves the rest of his donut into his mouth. Agnes raises her eyebrows with amusement, and he leans back on the stool as he chews. “Sorry,” he begins. His voice is muffled from a full mouth. “I’ve been  _ really _ hungry lately. Because of the p-,” he cuts himself off.

“The  _ what _ ?” 

“Nothing,” he chirps innocently. 

Agnes sighs, looking tired. She gets up from her seat and picks up some plates from a booth. She stacks them in her arms and goes to the back to put them in the sink. There’s a second where everyone eats in silence as the fizzle from the neon donut sign outside is the only sound. Diego gets out a small knife and twirls it around his fingers. 

Allison rolls her eyes. “So Patrick-,”

“Oh, _enough_ about Patrick! Can’t we talk about _anything _else?” Klaus stretches his arms like a sleepy cat. “I’d rather hear Luther ramble about outer space.”  
“Patrick’s my _boyfriend _and we’re going to the fair on Saturday.” Allison sticks her tongue out at him.

“That’s  _ very  _ mature of you. We turned seventeen two months ago, Ally!” 

“You literally have chocolate icing all over your face.” 

Klaus grabs a handful of napkins. For a second, she looks smug, and then he throws them at her.   
“Wh- hey!” She throws them back. 

“How. Dare. You.” He grabs a bigger handful and tosses a napkin to punctuate each word.

Agnes took this instant to walk back into the eating area of the diner. Allison froze as Klaus shoved the remaining napkins in his blazer’s pockets. His fingers stuck out of the ripped fabric. Just as she was about to say something, a man in his late fifties or early sixties walked in. The room fell silent as he took a seat at the counter, too. He left a few stools in between himself and the Umbrella Academy. 

“Welcome to Griddy’s,” Agnes faced him from the opposite side of the counter. “The menu is up above,” she gestured at the illuminated panels over her head. The food offered was written next to the name of the doughnut shop and pictures of food.

He nodded curtly. “I’ll take a coffee. Black.” His voice was rough from disuse. 

“Anything else?” Agnes used her polite “customer voice”.  
The man thought to himself for a second. “I would normally order a boston cream donut, but my wife Dolores wants me to eat healthier.” 

“Alright,” she said with a smile and hurried over to the back of the diner to pour him a cup of coffee.

Quiet covered the diner like a thick blanket. The five members of the Umbrella Academy kept glancing at him out of the corners of their eyes, and he did the same. Even Klaus seemed to be out of his daze for a second. After years of coming to the same doughnut shop, they figured out who the regulars were. This man wasn’t one of them. 

“Your clothes is ripped. Mo- I’m sure your mom could take care of that.” He clumsily tried conversation. 

“She will,” Luther squinted suspiciously. The guy seemed familiar. Could he be an old criminal? Was he here for reven-

“I have to get going soon,” the man’s frown seemed to carry a lot of weight. “Work. I would’ve ordered a fluffernutter sandwich, but I have no time. Not like that word means anything anymore.” 

Allison raised an eyebrow. “Okay then.” 

Like a jolt of electricity went through him, he suddenly straightened. “You don’t know me. I’m--- I’m just a big fan,” he fumbled. “I try to follow the news, but it was hard. The last newspaper ever was from March-,”

The door opened again. It interrupted the man’s intensity, and he turned towards the sound like a startled deer. Or, impossibly, he turned  _ before  _ the sound actually happened, like he had heard the footsteps. 

A woman with short, curled white-blond hair stepped in. Her high heels clicked against the tiling as her eyes locked on the man.

“You’re not done yet.” Her smile didn’t reach her eyes. 

The man glared. “I work _alone_.”   
“I felt that this mission needed _special _accompaniment. Otherwise, you’d come off to eat somewhere like _this_.” Her expression was cat-like. Something about it felt like she was proud. 

The five kids watched without a peep. Vanya’s eyes were bugging out of her head. Diego’s hand slowly closed around the knife, ready to throw it if he had to. Luther’s half-eaten donut was the least of his concern.

It was like an invisible fishing pole tugged the man towards her. Feet moving slowly, robotically, and his eyes sent daggers. But he had to obey. He was  _ so _ close---he had made it this far. That meant he could make it farther. To when she wasn’t anywhere near his siblings.

“There you go.” The woman praised him like a dog. 

He was silent, but as she turned and exited to the sidewalk, his head turned back towards the Umbrella Academy. Their eyes quickly averted as they busied themselves, except for Vanya, whose eyes locked onto his. Her jaw was slightly slackened as she studied him, a nagging feeling in her stomach telling her something illogical. 

The man left the diner as suddenly as he had arrived.

Just then, Agnes stepped back into the eating area. She held a steaming cup of coffee. “Sorry about that, I had to make a new pot-,” she stopped dead in her tracks. “Oh, he’s gone.” 

\- 

And then there were three. 

“I know we had to keep rescheduling, but my agent got me an audition, so I had to go,” Allison said to Luther and Vanya as the trio walked in. 

“It’s okay,” Agnes and Vanya comforted at the same time. Both were taken aback by the other speaking.

“Hi, Agnes,” Luther walked up to the counter. Agnes smiled warmly. “Could we have three donuts?” Hastily, he added, “To go, please.”

She looked crushed, but quickly recovered. “Of course,” she fell back into her customer voice, and grabbed three small paper bags. Agnes took a napkin and headed for one of the boston cream donuts, their regular.

“Wait, actually,” Allison interrupted. Agnes froze. “Could I have an apple fritter? It’s not as, uh, heavy.” 

“It’s still fried,” Vanya said as Agnes slowly put an apple fritter into the first paper bag. 

“Yeah, I know, but it doesn’t have the cream and everything. We’re not babies anymore.” 

Vanya mouthed a silent “ _ oh _ ” as Luther nodded in agreement. 

“So where are you three leaving to? The park?” Agnes asked faux cheerfully. 

“We’re going back to the mansion.” Allison got some money out of her leather purse. It looked expensive. Designer? “I need to pack.” 

“Oh! Where are you going? On that long awaited-for vacation?” 

“Hollywood. I have a flight out there.” 

Agnes turned from the donuts. “Wow!” Her eyes crinkled with excitement. She plucked two more napkins from the dispenser and moved over to the boston cream donuts.   
“I’m, uh, not hungry. Sorry.” Vanya crossed her arms and looked down at her shoes. Agnes put one of the bags back. She took a donut and put it in the remaining bag.

“It’s a movie deal. It’ll be really big for me. I worked really hard for it, you know.” Allison’s tone was proud and it showed with her glowing smile. Vanya seemed to disagree with her last statement, but didn’t show it past her squinting at the lighting’s reflection on the floor.

“Congratulations!” Agnes handed the two bags over the counter, and Luther took them. Allison gave her the money, and she put it in the cash register. “Thank you,” she politely said. “I guess I won’t see you five all together anytime soon, will I?” 

Luther froze. “Oh.” His utterance sounded dull, like he had forgotten to say something. “Klaus… packed all his stuff. And Diego followed after.” 

Agnes paused as well. “Oh,” she copied. 

The three remaining members of the Umbrella Academy stiffened as the pause between words settled.

“I’m  _ really  _ running late…,” Allison trailed off, fiddling with her purse’s strap. Her acrylic nails were a stark difference to the shaky purple nail polish that Klaus used to do for her. 

“Oh, of course, I wouldn’t want to bother you. Have a good… few weeks, I guess.” Agnes managed one last smile. 

The three started to leave. As Allison and Luther walked outside and took a left, Vanya froze before the door. She turned back and gave a quick wave to Agnes. The waitress repeated the movement. Then, Vanya sped up and followed her siblings. 

“To be honest, I have an audition at the opera house for second chair, so I have to get goi-,” Vanya’s voice was distant, and she continued to talk as the donut shop’s door slammed shut behind her. 

\- 

Griddy’s Doughnut Shop was empty except for Agnes and a single customer. It was late. This time of the night, the only people out were the ones desperate for coffee. A tow truck driver sat in front of her, and she had to take his order soon. She looked over at the barstools on her far right, exactly where the Umbrella Academy used to sit. The fabric on them had been replaced over the eleven years it had been since one of them stepped foot into the diner. But there was still a subtle dent from when Luther smacked the counter a little too hard, and a small, jagged “ _ D”  _ carved into the surface from one of Diego’s knives. Other than that… what had remained? 

The door opened. A boy that looked just like Number Five Hargreeves walked in. 

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! I hope you enjoyed the fic. :) If you did, please comment and go follow me on Tumblr at @tehmoonofficial! I make shitposts over there.


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